‘Culture club’ plan quizzed
A ROCHDALE councillor has questioned a new scheme that aims to promote the ‘distinctive culture’ of towns in Greater Manchester.
Communities will compete for the ‘Town of Culture’ title and £50,000 to help create a ‘recognisable brand,’ hold events and attract further investment.
But there are concerns over the disparity between the size of places that could be put forward for the challenge.
The proposals were presented to councillors at a Greater Manchester Combined Authority meeting on September 13 but were met with a mixed reception.
Norden councillor Michael Holly said: “The concept is great but Bolton is a big town compared with Heywood.
“The disparity in size is enormous, and I struggle to understand what sort of comparisons you can make because they might have different offers.”
The meeting heard that size would not come into play when the applications were judged by an independent panel.
The name of the award has also come under fire for potentially excluding areas within Manchester, where there are no towns.
Local authorities will be allowed to nominate towns, villages or neighbourhoods within their respective boroughs, with a winner due to be announced at the end of November.
Councillor Greg Statham added: “This will confuse people and it could breed resentment in other areas of Manchester that don’t necessarily have that feeling of being a civic district centre.”
Councillor David Greenhalgh, GMCA’s lead for culture, said the programme’s main purpose was to encourage local authorities to engage with and promote their cultural heritage - to get it ‘at the forefront of people’s minds’.
The Town of Culture programme will run in 2020 and 2021 initially with a view of making it an annual event, with the GMCA ensuring that a borough doesn’t win the accolade twice in a row.